Quote from the Bible

"And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength: this is the first commandment. And the second is like it, namely this, You shall love your neighbour as yourself. There is none other commandment greater than these." ~ Mark 12:30-31 The Holy Bible

What does this mean?
The first commandment is to love GOD with everything that we have been given (heart, soul, mind, strength).
The second is like it: to love our neighbor as ourselves.

So where is the commandment to love ourselves?
It is the first commandment. We are all that IS. We must first remember who we are as individuals. We must first find love, peace, joy, and gratitude within ourselves. We must first find the truth that resides within, and then love (surrender to) it with all we have been given (heart, soul, mind, strength).

Once we fully understand who we are, we must then begin to see others in the same way, as our mirror, as ourselves. We are ONE.

Afterglow

I woke with your scent

still warm on my skin

the delicate taste of your

tongue on my lips

the memory flashed bright

bringing a smile

heightening my sense of life

if only for a moment.

Written in 1989(?) by Sue

From a friend (written to me, not by me)

Konichiwa - my friend
spinning visions of endless
streams of white scooters, trendy
none the less, summers
in provo can be dangerous
every friendships a risk
I shared my life with you
dreams, hopes, fears, our
common cause
goodbye doesn't count with
us. our lives twine in
never ending hellos, boxes
of memories on my dresser
remind me of dances undanced
and songs unsung. life's plan
is often cruel. a song in my
heart waits for you.
where does the wind carry
our footprints?

Written in Sept 1986 by Ken Nishimoto
I have not obtained his permission to post this, however it is was written for me as a gift, and by that I assume permission to use it at my discretion.

Just write!

To write a poem, for me is hard.
I can't quite do a Hallmark card.
It makes me cry
and want to die.
"Just write," you say, "let down your guard."

Written in slight mockery to my creative writing teacher in Feb 1997

Susanne

I am

S-urprised as the words tumble out
U-psetting the original flow of my far too
S-erious thoughts that cause me to feel
A-shamed at my own inadequacies.
N-ervously I fumble with pen in hand searching for
N-irvana and the
E-uphoric sense of accomplishment.

Written in 1997 by Susanne "sue" Mendenhall

ONE

Together we are everything.
Apart - we are lonely
while we struggle to believe
we are happy.

Written in July 1997 by Sue Mendenhall

Perfect Intentions

I was going through some old things and came across a folder that contained about 10 years of my writings.

Since writing is my form of creative self-expression, I thought I might jot some of my past writings down here to hopefully inspire me to write more.

I will start with this one as it is the only one I have ever had published:

Invisibly, the silver strings stretch
across the doorway, carefully
placed to trap the unwary prey.
High in the corner, the unobtrusive
spider patiently waits. Meticulously
planned, the soft yet sticky silk
seduces the oblivious fly into its
sensuous display of perfect intentions.

Written in July 1992 by Sue